The present invention relates to a detector module and a light shielding member suitable for shielding incident light on a radiation detector, and to a radiation detecting apparatus and a radiation imaging apparatus using the same detector module and light shielding member.
The radiation tomographic imaging apparatus represented by X-ray CT (computed tomography) equipment is furnished with a radiation detector for detecting the radiation that has passed through an imaging object. Many such radiation detectors are composed of layers of a light emitting element array and a light receiving element array, the light emitting element array emitting fluorescence upon receipt of radiation, the light receiving element array outputting electrical signals when receiving the fluorescence.
Structured as outlined above, these radiation detectors are sealed with a light shielding material to prevent the intrusion of external light. That is because any incident light other than the fluorescence on the imaging detectors can result in faulty detection (e.g., see the abstract of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 5(1993)-045469).
In recent years, a growing number of radiation detectors have been of the type in which a plurality of detector modules is arrayed to ensure better assembling efficiency and higher arraignment accuracy. Many of these radiation detectors have tiny gaps between their arrayed detector modules sealed with light shielding material.
Meanwhile, a recent trend is for these detector modules to integrate diverse functions so as to improve the radiation detection capability, saving space, and so on. For this reason, the detection module substrate in many cases has electronic devices and other parts laid out thereon in high concentrated manner up to the substrate edges. That is, in the radiation detector, electronic devices are in close proximity to one another between adjacent detector module substrates, so that the gaps between the devices are very narrow. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to light shield the gaps between the detector modules easily and securely, especially those gaps formed on the opposite side of the radiation incidence plane.
In view of the above circumstances, the need exists for a technique that light shield the gaps between detector modules securely and easily.